In 1913,
Rosa Parks, a black woman whose 1955 refusal to give up her seat on a
Montgomery, Ala., city bus to a white man sparked a civil rights revolution,
was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Ala.

The moon sets 11:43 a.m. today, rises 2:46
a.m. Tuesday. It is two days after the last quarter.

100 years ago today

1913: Animal magnetism: "An
application has been filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Northampton County
for a perpetual charter for the 'Northampton County Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals.' The main objects of the society are the erection in
convenient places of fountains, tanks and troughs for the use of horses and
dogs and the printing and distribution of tracts telling of the proper care and
protection of horses and dogs. The main offices of the society are to be in Easton
and the dues are not to be less than one dollar a year. There are to be nine
directors."

50 years ago today

1963: Signs of the times: "The Civil
Defense fallout shelter marking program began in Easton
yesterday with installation of a shelter sign on the Alpha building on South
Third Street. Signs are put in place by a team
from Tobyhanna Army Depot after a survey is made by a team from the 4th Naval
District, Philadelphia. Thomas
Cahill of the Navy group said some 30 shelters will be marked in Easton
during the next several days. Charles Stecker, Civil Defense shelter chief for Easton,
said letters requesting the use of some 352 facilities have been sent out. City
CD officials are awaiting a reply from Lafayette
College regarding use of facilities
there as fallout shelters."

25 years ago today

1988: Ever the statesman: "As a
candidate for the presidency, George McGovern got clobbered, but as a speaker
on the lecture circuit he is getting in the last word by analyzing the failures
of those who have held the office. Speaking to about 700 people at East
Stroudsburg University, the former South Dakota senator compared the 'moral
failures' that led to the three major presidential scandals of the last 30
years — John Kennedy's Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba; Richard Nixon's bombing of
Cambodia and Watergate break-in, and Ronald Reagan's sale of arms to Iran to
back the Nicaraguan Contras." Said McGovern, "Almost without exception,
presidential crises have been the consequence of the president and a small
group of advisers placing short-term demands of national security above the
Constitution."

Quote of the day

"Life is doubt, and faith without doubt is nothing but death."
— Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher (1864-1936).

Almanac is compiled by Pete Brekus, Express-Times news
assistant. He can be reached at 610-258-7171,
or at pbrekus@express-times.com.